My Dad ...

There is a story of a tradition in a particular culture that transfers well to all cultures the nature of Fatherhood.

In this tradition there is a rite-of-passage into adulthood for a boy into manhood. The boy's father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him, and leaves him alone.
...

To pass the test, the boy/man-to-be is required to sit on a stump or log all night and not remove the blindfold until the morning sun shines through the darkness of night.

He cannot cry out for help to anyone.

If he survives the night, he is a man.

He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each youngster must come into manhood on his own.

Obviously, the boy is terrified. Being in the dark and blindfolded, his mind plays tricks on him. As the wind blows the grass and trees, he hears all kinds of noises. He thinks wild animals must surely be all around him. But he must sit still, no matter what, and never remove the blindfold.

This is the only way he can become a man.

Finally, after a fearful night, the sun appears and he can remove his blindfold.

Then . . . he discovers his father sitting next to him.

Without the boy knowing, his father has been there the entire night, protecting him from anything that might cause harm.

Whether this tradition of a culture is true or not I don't know, but it tells a lesson for all of us. Even though the youth couldn't see his father sitting next to him, his father was indeed there, ready to fight for his son.

We, too, have our heavenly Father with us all the time. The truth is that we are never alone!